…writes Subhan quoting James Baldwin
Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.”
– James Baldwin
Baldwin is on to something! But there’s more that is needed to be understood, as we begin this mask removal process.
Most of us, at some point, want to create an image of ourselves that shows others that we are worthy or loveable, or whatever value we want to project. This is what I call the result of an “image guard.” The problem is that we can feel false and self conscious when we do this.
But, if we were to remove it, we recognize that we and others would be confronted by a person who is not worthy or loveable. So that is why we don’t want to remove the mask!
But – this negative person who we feel is under our “positive” mask is really just another mask! It is the mask that we have assembled of the negative person we think we are, based upon the way we were conditioned about ourselves.
That mask also has to be removed!
Only then will we discover our original face, which is neither positive or negative. It has been described by mystics as the true nature of who we are, which includes total worthiness and unconditional love.
So removal of the “image” that we want others to believe is us will then require the removal of the negative image that we carry unconsciously underneath the positive image.
And then… we will arrive where we already are – the essence of what it is to be a genuine human being!
And real love will support us deeply in this “removal” process!
This article was first posted on Facebook – reproduced here with the author’s permission
Featured image (detail) by Саша Круглая: pexels.com
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